Businesses aren’t willing to make big moves, we’re told time and time again, because of uncertainty.

How, then, can we explain the Top Real Estate Deals section in this week’s edition?

The section is filled with big moves with no small degree of risk. There are purchases of existing properties with the intent of gaining presence in the market and new development aimed at giving companies room to grow. The parties involved in the deals include local businesses that scouted options throughout the metropolitan area and national investors that look at deals from coast to coast.

Players in these multimillion-dollar deals weren’t oblivious to the possibility of changes in tax laws at some point in the future, or privy to inside, guaranteed-accurate projections of what the economy will do in the next five, 10 or 30 years. Yet they shook hands, signed contracts and committed to long-term financing deals.

Uncertainty in business can be scary. But there are few certain things in business.

As you read through our stories of the year’s Top Real Estate Deals, think about the risks taken by parties in the deal. More important, though, think about the opportunities created by these deals and dealmakers.

The Kansas City Business Journal has always been heavy on coverage of commercial real estate. A big reason is the transformation and opportunity that arise from real estate deals.

A project like Perceptive Software’s new headquarters in Lenexa will literally change the landscape of that city. It brings brick and mortar, but it also brings a stronger tax base and the prestige of being home to a company that is growing worldwide.

Shamrock Trading’s purchase of the two Glenwood Place buildings provides room to accommodate the growth of its operations, but it also brings opportunity for tenants to locate in renovated buildings along Metcalf Avenue and opportunity for companies that will perform the renovations and even the retailers and restaurants that will benefit from an influx of additional customers in their trade area.

The stories in the Top Real Estate Deals section begin with buildings, land and construction. But the stories of these deals, consummated in a time of uncertainty, carry over to open new chapters for area cities, employees, vendors and customers.